1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to telecommunications systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for maintaining state information on a client device configured for voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP) communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, telecommunications systems provide the ability for two or more people or machines (e.g., computerized or other electronic devices) to communicate with each other. A telecommunications system may include various networks for facilitating communication that may be generally organized into packet networks and circuit-switched networks. An exemplary circuit-switched network includes a plain old telephone system (POTS), such as the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN). Exemplary packet networks include internet protocol (IP) networks, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, frame-relay networks, and the like. One type of packet network is a voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP) network.
In a VOIP network, voice conversations are routed over the Internet or through any other internet protocol (IP)-based network. The voice data flows over a general-purpose packet-switched network, rather than dedicated legacy circuit-switched telephony transmission lines. VOIP calls can be launched from devices that have interactive capabilities well beyond simple voice transmit/receive. Notably, some VOIP subscribers desire the ability to securely store and retrieve information to and from VOIP client devices during VOIP sessions. For example, it may be advantageous to securely store and use login, profile, history, and other types of information for subscribers engaging in automated and/or live voice interactions. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for maintaining state information on a client device configured for VOIP communication.